Door gaps - 1953 convertible

[minormadness]

I've been checking over my new project and the bodywork is not as good as I had hoped. There has obviously been some structural weakening in the past resulting in the door gap for the near side door being 6mm less than the drivers side, which is why the door is difficult to shut properly. The problem is that the car has been strengthened (bodged) subsequently so even if you jack it up in the middle the door gap doesn't change.
I guess I need to remove some of the bodges, jack it up in the middle untile the gap opens and then weld a bar across the door gap to keep it true whilst the proper restoration work is done. Does anyone else have any experience or words of wisdom in this? It is quite a common thing in my experience with MGBs but this is my first Minor so I'm interested if anyone has any advice.
Cheers
Rob

[kennatt]

yes exactly the same as the mgb especialy the roadster I once aquired one and needed to do the same the gap was that far out that the top of the door was nearly three times the size of the bottom to the point that the door would not shut the previous inexpirience owner had done a ""RESTORATION"" himself with the shell sat upside down supported on the front and with a tea chest in the boot guess what happened when he ripped the castle sections out he just gave up on it, but I got it for a song and sold it for lots of lager tokens,wish I could find another one just like it, treat it just as you have said its not too bad just a bit more work removing the old welding good luck

[minormadness]

Update - the nearside door gap was about 6mm less than the offside (the offside door fits and closes nicely). So I jacked it up until the opening was the same on both sides, and then welded a strut across the opening. After I had done this, the door was still not fitting very well, it had dropped - and I couldn't figure out how to adjust it and eventually concluded there was no adjustment for this.

There was a small amount of play in the top hinge so I took it off and looked at the hinge pin which was worn but not drastically. As a temporary measure I refitted the pin the other way round so the worn part was not bearing, and refitted the door. Still the same. So I eventually resorted to lifting the door myself, effectively forcing it up into the right position, presumably slightly bending the frame to achieve this. It now fits pretty well, so I can go ahead and replace the sill structure.

My conclusion is that the door had dropped due to someone swinging on it and slightly bending it downwards, which I have reversed.

Rob

[bmcecosse]

You seem to be on the right track!